Winterthur Point-to-Point tradition continues on May 6

04/16/2018 12:31PM
● By J. Chambless

Riders race as a hillside full of spectators enjoys the day at Winterthur Point-to-Point.

Winterthur Point-to-Point, the
Brandywine Valley’s signature springtime event, celebrates its ruby
anniversary this year with a day full of championship horse racing,
an antique carriage parade, tailgate picnics, people watching, and
other activities.

The first Point-to-Point races at
Winterthur took place on May 6, 1979. Searching for a way to use the
nearly 1,000 acres of the estate, the trustees decided to present a
day of steeplechase racing. Winterthur tractors cut a course through
a former cow pasture, and the event was a tremendous success. Reports
on attendance varied but the crowd, mostly horsemen and their
families and friends dressed in rugged country gear, enjoyed good
weather and great racing.

Today, Point-to-Point is a day of fun
for all ages, including activities such as stick horse races for
children, a parade of River Hills foxhounds, canine capers, and a
display of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars. A highlight of the day is
the George A. "Frolic" Weymouth Carriage Parade, named in
honor of the late artist and founder of the Brandywine Conservancy &
Museum of Art in Chadds Ford.

“Point-to-Point is truly a family
tradition, both for spectators and participants,” said Jill S.
Abbott, race director. “Today’s owners, trainers, and riders are
the children and grandchildren of the 1979 participants, while many
of today’s attendees first attended as children.”

Post time for the Isabella du Pont
Sharp Memorial, a maiden timber race with a $15,000 purse, is at 2
p.m. The Winterthur Bowl, an open timber race with an anniversary
purse of $40,000, takes place at 2:30 p.m. Post time for the Vicmead
Plate, an amateur highweight timber race with a $15,000 purse, is at
3 p.m. The steeplechase races are run on a course of approximately
three miles, with a total of eight fences that are jumped 17 times.
The Middletown Cup, a flat race, begins at 3:30 p.m.

Trophies for the races are adapted from
originals in the Winterthur collection. The Alison Hershbell Pony
Races, run in two heats, for small and for large ponies, start at
noon.

Gates open at 11:30 a.m. Admission must
be purchased in advance. Point-to-Point is a rain-or-shine event. No
refunds are issued. The event is Winterthur’s largest one-day
fundraiser, and proceeds benefit the continued maintenance and
preservation of the garden and estate at Winterthur.

For tickets, visit
www.winterthur.org/ptp
or call 800-448-3883. Admission is $40 for adults. No wristbands will
be mailed after April 27. Purchasers will be required to pick up
wristbands after April 27 at the Point-to-Point office. Admission is
$25 for young adults, ages 12 to 20, and free for children under 12,
but children must have wristband for admittance (not available on
race day).

General admission is also available in
advance at Brew HaHa! (Trolley Square and Greenville locations),
Ellie, Houpette (Greenville location), Janssen's Market, ShopRite
(Brandywine location) and the Wilmington Country Store.